Much ruin in a Boeing Nation

One wonders what will happen to the machinists' defined benefit pensions if they lose their jobs;

...a 56-year-old quality inspector on the 787 Dreamliner line, who also asked not to be identified, said “a lot of people are upset” at not getting a chance to vote yes.

“We should decide,” he said. “If we don’t get this contract, we might not have jobs in the future. I want to retire at Boeing.”

Yet to others, the pension is sacred. Or they simply don’t trust anything Boeing management says.

Bob Baumgardner, 55, an electrician on the 787 program, supports Wroblewski’s refusal of a vote on the Boeing offer.

“Many of us were happy when the Local 751 stood up and rejected it,” Baumgardner said. “Anything that has to do with killing the pension is a solid vote no.”

Like many Machinists, Omar Abdul-Alim, a 23-year veteran mechanic in Renton, cannot accept the need for concessions when Boeing is profitable and top executives get compensation in the tens of millions.

“There’s no justice there,” said Abdul-Alim. “It’s just corporate greed.”

Without 'corporate greed'--aka, shareholders expecting a return on their investment--there is no Boeing. Which seems to be where Washington state is headed.